glyptoteque This is certainly a weird bag of mixed "sweets", and about 4 fifths of it tastes like manure, and by that I do not mean the murder-sequences. The director, Chuck Parello, doesn't seem to have a clue about what a good script entails, and he is extremely eager to consult "The Great Book of Clichés" at almost every turn. While the real life Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi probably were quite simplistic and pathetic, however under the ever watchful eye of Parello, they come off most of the time, as nothing but ridiculous caricatures. It is not a good sign when you actually find yourself laughing your head off at lines obviously meant to be menacing, but which on the contrary becomes truly great, unintentional comedy. There is so much hilarious dialogue going on here, that it's unfathomable, and it goes without saying, that this in the end will ruin the deep and unsettling impact Parello probably would have liked it to have. It could almost seem that Parello was hoping, in the future, that the film could get some sort of turkey-award, because many of the images on display here, are just beyond belief. After a woman has been strangled, and Buono checks for life-signs, confirming that she is gone, if you look closely, you can see clearly that she is still breathing! Now, that is what I call good acting, it's truly a feat of accomplishment not being able to do the simplest thing, to play dead. The Royal Shakespeare Company next, I assume? Then you have sequences that seem over-the-top unlikely(And trust me, they are many!!), like fex. when they lure one of the first girls to do some hooking for them. At first she seems genuinely scared, and the whole scene is quite believable, but after a little while she seems quite content being the whore of the house! How are we to interpret this, I wonder? Is she still in a state of massive shock, with the result that numbness has set in, leaving a deadened impression on her face, that could be mistaken for serene calm? Or has she really come to her senses, realising after some serious contemplation, that this new line of work really is the best carriere option for her? That these two psychotic madmen really were heaven sent? You are left with one last alternative, and in this context it is most likely the most plausible one I fear, that Mr Parello simply doesn't have a clue how to piece together images in a concise and believable manner. And concise is probably a foreign word for him, because he doesn't seem to quite know which type of film he is directing; am I directing a Italian gangster movie? Is it a comedy? Is it a movie about dancing? No, wait I'm actually directing a movie about two real-life serial killers!! Well, what the hell, let's just mix them altogether, it probably will turn out more believable that way! Since I've actually given it a 3, that could only mean that there actually were a few sequences that I found to be intense, compelling and disturbing. One of the first murders, I actually found to be one of the most unsettling I've seen in quite a while, and after watching horror films for about 16-17 years now, it goes without saying that I can watch almost anything. So congratulations Mr Parello, for having that brief moment of clarity! I also found some rewarding intensity in the scene where Buono is arguing with his mother, and for the most part I think the women playing the victims did some good acting, in that they seemed genuinely scared, and that they managed to evoke some pity on my part. As a conclusion though, the film is quite simply manure, with just a few bits of candy strewn on it for good measure. And of course, that is far from good enough. See "Bundy" or "Dahmer" instead.

necredeye This was a pretty decent flick. It wasn't amazing or anything. It had a real dirty 70s feel to it though. Thats what I liked best. The film has dirty language and dirty characters, which I enjoyed. They drop some serious bad words in bad combinations and mistreat women pretty constantly. Its not a happy film. Its a little light on the horror and gore, but its not really focusing on that. It focuses more on what kind people the serial killers were. Namely dirty bad people. But I found myself enjoying it and have recommended it to like-minded individuals. If you like dirty and exploitative films, you'll enjoy this throwback.I give it an overall 6 of 10, but it will probably find its niche out there.

ZootCadillac Regardless of your opinion about the validity of this and similar films the fact remains that it is an interpretation of actual events and complaining about the content of the movie and bleating about the film offending your sensibilities is the same as complaing about watching the murdering of innocent Iraqis on the news. Seldom few do it because it is pointless. These things happen and people will use different mediums to tell the story.As for the film well, I settled down to watch this and It all goes downhill from there.I am well aware of the story of these murderous cousins and was looking forward to seeing this when I spotted it. I had heard nothing about it but thought that it can't be too bad with C. Thomas Howell in it. I remember him as a decent actor.How wrong was I? This has got to be one of the worst films I have had the misfortune to see in the last decade, and trust me, I've seen some utter crap. The whole thing looked like it had had a budget spent that is equivalent to my weekly beer budget. Made on a shoestring with a bunch of amateur actors ( loose term ) I can't believe Howell joined this movie let alone finished it. Even his acting was dire having been dragged down to the level of the rest. I have seen better made 1970's porn flicks that contained better dialogue and storyline than this tripe.I pride myself upon watching ( or reading ) anything I start right to the end. I considered stopping this at least three times and then when I least expected it it suddenly ended. However I was glad of that. Avoid at all cost.

le_harpo This movie was great that filmmakers really got the vibe of the 2 psychos who did the crimes and i learned a lot. The murder scenes are hard to watch but necessary for the movie. Watch it if you can handle it! The film starts slow with a good character build up and it also is telling me the psychological factors involved with what they did. It This movie has the same vibe as BUNDY with a deep delving into the psychosis of the murders. This movie did a lot of good to me as i am studying modern true crime and i used this movie for my reference. It made me feel sorry for the c Thomas Howell character because i fell he would have been nicer.